Random Axe of Vancouver: My Top 10 for Vancouver 2007 (Part Two)

(in no particular order)

Who Let the Air Out?

Whether you live in Vancouver or not, there's a good chance you'll recall that 2007 was kicked off, not with a bang, but with a rip. A great, big, giant RIP in the inflated ceiling of BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver.
BC Place is where the BC Lions regularly kick butt in the Canadian Football League and it's also where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But last January, all of that was followed by a question mark after a nasty wind storm tore a gigantic hole in the roof of BC Place. And if course it was all captured on video. Behold…

It was a big change to Vancouver's skyline when BC Place deflated because day after day, year after year it was just always there… looking like a big white marshmallow. But I'll always remember how strange it was to ride the Skytrain past BC Place and look out the window at a stadium without a roof! Only its circular foundation and main structure remained… sans roof. It deflated in a way that Barry Bonds' ego should.

My Arresting Encounter with The Police

A little later into 07, Vancouver started to buzz about a reunion tour by one of the most popular bands of all time, The Police.
Sting and the boys would be kicking off their first tour in almost 25 years right here in Vancouver. Not only that, but the band planned to rehearse right here in our city. The Police were soon spotted around town and eventually I saw them too. I was out for dinner with some friends one fine evening at Cin Cin. I looked up from my menu and there he was… Sting and the rest of The Police and their large entourage, all eating dinner and drinking red wine. To find out what happened between me and a member of The Police, click on THIS!
When all was sang and done, The Police reunion tour was recognized as the highest grossing concert tour of 2007.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Summer in Vancouver is nothing without the Celebration of Light - the largest and definitely most-spectacular fireworks festival and competition on planet Earth. Over the course of 4 nights in July and August, at least a quarter of a million Vancouverites make the annual pilgrimage to English Bay, site of this yearly festival.

I make a point of watching each night of competition, every year, year after year. The Celebration of Light is one of the best things you'll ever find to do in this town. It's free, it takes place in a fantastic outdoors location, there's great music and, of course, there's about 2 hours of stunning fireworks that will leave your jaw on the ground and your imagination feeling as plugged in as when you were 5 years old.
2007 was a fantastic year for the Celebration of Light because Canada won the competition! For my nightly accounts of the Celebration of Light, click on THIS! and read "Let There Be Light". Then, click on THIS! and scroll down near the bottom to read "You Light Up My Life" and "Light My Fire".

Say I'm Your Number One

Also, in the summer of 2007, Vancouver was once again honored by The Economist Intelligence Unit as the #1 Most Liveable City in the world. Shortly after my town received this tremendous accolade, I had an experience which only confirmed in my mind that The Economist hit the bullseye with their assessment. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had and definitely makes 2007 memorable for me. This is a must-tell story so click on THIS! and read my post "Most Liveable City" at the top of that page.

Meet the Mascots

In November, VANOC (VANcouver Olympic Committee) revealed to the public, at long last, our mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouverites greeted these 'chosen ones' with a mixture of incredulousness and disapproval (felt by many grown-ups) and adoration (the feeling of most kids). But really, the mascots are all about merchandising so as long as the kids love 'em, the parents will buy 'em. Case closed. Personally, the more I see 'em, the more I like 'em - maybe I'm just a big kid.

So that's pretty much 2007 as I recall it. Before the year was out though, another change would move my life in another direction.
As much as I loved living in South Main, fate dealt a new hand and so I returned to South Granville, a neighbourhood where I have previously lived at 3 different periods of my life. Unlike South Main, my next neighbourhood comes with more than one Starbucks (quel surprise), a DKNY shop and lawn sprinklers programmed to spritz the grass in the middle of the night so as not to wet the fine footwear of neighbourhood dwellers on their way to and from Meinhardt's or Williams-Sonoma.
South Granville also offers Gallery Row which is a several-blocks-long stretch of fantastic art galleries and antique shops sure to inspire any New Year resolutions to spruce up your home. Click on THIS! and scroll down a bit to read "She's a Brick House" for the brief history of a very cool heritage building on South Granville .

P.S. I know this is a Top 10 of 2007, but a few other events made the year memorable for me:
A trip with my Mom to the Okanagan for a family wedding was a good time for both of us. I gained a whole new respect for her ability to out-drive an 18-wheeler and its driver who decided to play chicken with us on a pitch-black mountain pass at high speed. Phew! Am I ever glad we made it out of that one!
Also, a trip to Mayne Island with a bunch of good friends made for a fab min-vacation together.
One more... I attended the Tori Amos concert in December with my sister and some friends and while it rocked us to heaven and back, it was made even better by the fact that we got to check out Tori's sound check before the show to hear a private performance of two great songs. Oh, that was good times.
Last but not least, the other event that stood out for me in 2007 was meeting Emmy-award winning actors Christian LeBlanc and Tracey Bregman from The Young and The Restless at a charity event last summer. More good times indeed.